DEMOCRACY DEFENSE

Chicago Lawyers’ Committee’s mission to secure racial equity and economic opportunity for all is inherently democracy defense work. A thriving multiracial democracy is one where every individual, particularly those from historically marginalized communities, has the ability to exercise freedoms and access to meaningful opportunities, including  a high-quality public education, the freedom to vote, safe and affordable housing, and where nonprofits can freely pursue their missions without government interference.  

Since the Trump administration took office in January 2025, our team of legal advocates have stepped up to challenge unlawful executive orders, threats to nonprofit organizations, and other federal abuse of power impacting our communities in the Midwest.

To meet this unprecedented moment in our history, we launched our Democracy Defense initiative to hold power accountable and safeguard the systems that allow our democracy to function.

HOLDING POWER ACCOUNTABLE

DEMOCRACY DEFENSE IN ACTION

Protecting nonprofits from federal threats and government pressures. 

Our Midwest Voting Rights Program safeguards access to the ballot box for all eligible voters, particularly those from historically marginalized communities such as communities of color, people with disabilities, currently or formerly incarcerated individuals, and non-English speakers who most often face barriers to voting. Through litigation and advocacy, we will challenge actions that threaten to undermine or weaken this most fundamental right of our democratic system. When all eligible voters can make their voices heard, our democracy is stronger. 

Protecting the right to vote.

We are expanding our historic work serving nonprofits by challenging the federal administration’s harmful policies that undermine the efforts of these organizations to support marginalized communities, advance equity, and actualize the promises of the civil rights movement. CLC has become the resource that nonprofits turn to when they require high-quality legal support and are facing threats from federal administration actions. Protecting these organizations means protecting their missions and, ultimately, the communities they serve through rigorous legal representation ready to challenge the threats they face from the federal administration.

Fully resourced public schools are essential to both racial justice and preparing the next generation to participate in our democracy. Our education equity work challenges chronic underfunding, segregation, and harsh disciplinary practices that block opportunity for students of color. Public education that serves all communities is under attack by the current administration and we have committed to providing our education partners the legal resources and advocacy skills necessary to protect public education as a core democratic institution.

Defending public education as the bedrock of our democracy. 

Let’s be clear – a multiracial democracy cannot thrive without racial equity, and racial equity cannot be achieved without a strong democracy.  

Our democracy will continue to be tested and Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights will be on the front lines ready to defend it alongside our partners.

OUR CASE WORK

In February 2025, Chicago Lawyers’ Committee filed a lawsuit on behalf of Chicago-based nonprofit Chicago Women in Trades (CWIT) challenging President Trump’s executive orders restricting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives and calling for the termination of “equity-related” federal grants and contracts. As a recipient of federal grant programs, CWIT is directly impacted by the executive orders which threaten to eliminate CWIT’s ability to continue its critical role in expanding economic opportunity and mobility for women in the skilled trades, particularly women of color who have faced discrimination in the sector and are severely underrepresented. The executive orders force organizations like CWIT to choose between abandoning services to historically marginalized communities or losing critical federal funding, effectively preventing them from providing vital programs and services that are core to their missions. The litigation has resulted in a preliminary injunction entered in Spring 2025 that allows the organization to continue its important work. Chicago Lawyers’ Committee is proud to be working with a legal team of civil rights lawyers from Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, National Women’s Law Center, LatinoJustice PRLDEF, and pro-bono counsel Crowell & Moring LLP. These executive orders attacking diversity and equity are not only unconstitutional, they are un-American. They propagate a false historical narrative in an attempt to roll back hard-fought civil rights protections, and we are honored to stand with Chicago Women in Trades in challenging them.
Chicago Lawyers’ Committee is also representing Freedom Network USA (FNUSA), in another federal lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s anti-DEI executive orders. FNUSA, the nation’s largest survivor and advocate-led anti-trafficking coalition, receives 70 percent of its funding from the Department of Justice through grants authorized by Congress. The DOJ has subsequently censored FN USA from using everyday terms like “gender,” “racial” and “accessibility,” in its federally funded work, which are central to FNUSA’s mission. The lawsuit, filed in October 2025, alleges that the executive orders jeopardize the future of its works to protect and advocate for human trafficking survivors, particularly those from marginalized communities. Chicago Lawyers’ Committee is representing FNUSA along with the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and pro-bono counsel Crowell & Moring LLP.
In December 2025, Chicago Lawyers’ Committee filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of ACT Now Illinois, through its fiscal sponsor Metropolitan Family Services, against the U.S. Department of Education after the department abruptly discontinued two multi-year Full-Service Community Schools (FSCS) grants. The FSCS programs administered by ACT Now are effective, improve student outcomes, and support working families across Illinois communities. Despite the fact that ACT Now’s implementation of the FSCS Program aligns with the Congressional intent to provide students from underserved rural and urban populations with access to a high-quality education and holistic community-based services, the Department of Education has now moved to abruptly terminate the funding as no longer consistent with federal policy and priorities. The lawsuit seeks to block the termination and preserve the grants which total $18.5 million annually and fund community school services in 16 school districts and 32 schools, serving approximately 19,000 students and their families. Chicago Lawyers’ Committee is working with the Sligo Law Group as co-counsel in the litigation.
Chicago Lawyers’ Committee, working with ACLU Illinois and the ACLU National Voting Rights Project has moved to intervene in federal litigation and challenge an attempt by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to obtain Illinois voters’ personal data. The intervention motion was filed on behalf of Common Cause, Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, and three individual Illinois voters. In July, as part of a nationwide effort, the DOJ demanded Illinois turn over voters’ full names, dates of birth, addresses, driver’s license numbers, and partial Social Security numbers — highly sensitive data that is protected under state and federal law. Advocates and voters, including those moving to intervene in the lawsuit, argue the DOJ’s request threatens voter privacy and enables voter disenfranchisement. Through this lawsuit, the DOJ is engaging in a clear federal overreach and abuse of power that puts Illinois voters at risk. Governmental demands for this sensitive information pose serious risks for naturalized citizens and people returning home from incarceration who already face heightened scrutiny and barriers to participation. We are proud to be working with Common Cause, Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights and the individual voters in this challenge and will continue to defend Illinois voters against federal efforts that threaten their voting rights.